Investment in Alberta

As many of you know, the Government is working diligently on the 2017-18 budget. On Jan. 17th, Minister of Finance, Joe Ceci came to Red Deer and met with myself and MLA Schreiner along with a group of community stakeholders for a budget consultation. It was a productive discussion and we're glad that Central Alberta was an important part of the consultations. It was great to have representation from education, health care, the Chamber of Commerce, small businesses and local non-profits. I'm excited to see the types of things inserted into the budget that will benefit Red Deerians.

As Albertans do, we took care of those who needed it most and kept our nose to the grindstone.

On Jan. 30, we had another member of government in town to once again meet with Red Deerians to hear what matter most to us. Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, Sarah Hoffman was in town for an intimate meet and greet with locals at Sunworks Art Gallery. This was a nice opportunity for people in the community to chat with the deputy premier about their issues regarding the future of the province and peruse some local art. The deputy premier also met with the Lending Cupboard and with local healthcare advocates from the Red Deer area.

These two visits to Red Deer in early 2017 show that the Government of Alberta is giving Red Deer the attention it deserves and this bodes well for continued investment in this part of the province. We know that these are just two examples of many that will be happening in Red Deer in 2017. Things are finally looking up for Alberta after a tough economic time. As Albertans do, we took care of those who needed it most and kept our nose to the grindstone. It now looks like we're past the worst of the recession.